The Paladins Templar
The Paladins Templar was at first a small group of British Humans that was formed before the Third World War. They were founded from the ashes of the Knights Templar by Union Strike, who then went by the name Grand Knight Strike. The reason for their insurrection was to fight to bring Christianity back to the United Kingdom following the passing of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II of England. In her place, King Charles III agreed with Grand Knight Strike in that the United Kingdom was dying due to its constant failures, especially regarding the recent cancellation of the Brexit movement. As such, the Paladins Templar was formed in order to strengthen the UK's power and prove that Great Britain was "not willing to go down without a fight." The members of the Paladins Templar were hand-picked by Strike from multiple divisions of the Midnight. This included the Special Air Service, Royal Marines Commandos, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Her Majesty's Armed Forces. One of the Paladins Templar was a mysterious man calling himself "Thames," later revealed by Grand Knight Strike to be a member of the original Knights Templar who had fallen in battle and been raised to serve again. After they were chosen, each unit (excluding Thames, who was a legend and did not need to hide his identity) agreed to forgo their names and pasts in order to serve the crown and God. They were taught personally by Grand Knight Strike to be master swordsmen and used their prior military training to use firearms effectively. Once they were ready for combat, they were granted specialised "Paladins Templar" armour and had the sigil of the order tattooed onto their chests. Now sworn to serve the UK and God, the Paladins Templar were assigned to their first mission. This mission included the Paladins Templar storming the Parliament Houses during a meeting and declaring Parliament "dead," threatening every person in the room if they did not submit and flee. However, the Paladins Templar captured the Prime Minister and took her to King Charles and Grand Knight Strike for judgement. While King Charles honourably refused to kill a fellow British citizen, Grand Knight Strike had no problem with decapitating the Prime Minister for treason, her death publicised to the world to send a message. The Paladins Templar was then assigned to locate and expose all Muslims in the United Kingdom, which they did without question as they were eager to hunt down the heretics. Their missions sparked mass controversy, though this did little to halt the devoted warriors. Eventually this led to the Islamic Rebellion in the United Kingdom, which was swiftly followed by a similar but global reaction. Since the United Kingdom had already largely been "cleansed" of the Muslim threat, the UK was able to focus on rebuilding its army and strike the Middle East directly, with the strikes directed by the Paladins Templar. The Paladins Templar was referred to by other nations as fanatics, psychos, or even sociopaths. However King Charles and Grand Knight Strike stood by the "Holy Unit" and as such were belittled, though this did little but anger Grand Knight Strike while King Charles III was not bothered. The Paladins Templar remained loyal to their leaders as the Third World War began and raged, with the Paladins Templar actually being declared the leading division of the British Army during the "Clean Slate Contingency," which would see the British Empire destroy hostile nations rather than capture them or make peace. Come the nuclear holocaust in the year 2025, the Paladins Templar's first units were all still alive alongside newer additions to the Holy Unit. As ordered by Grand Knight Strike, the Paladins Templar remained underground inside a holy structure beneath St. Paul's Cathedral simply called the "Holy Chamber," said to be the burial grounds of the original Knights Templar's greatest warriors and the apparent resting place of King Arthur, who was secretly one of the Knights Templar. There they remained until age took them all save one, who had survived through unknown means. He claims he was "chosen by God to spread the message to His faithful." This unit spread the secrets of the Paladins Templar, leading to their full public reformation by the species known as the Britons as a resistance movement against Exodus. Out of these whispers spawned the "Paladin Order," the first division of the Midnight Armed Forces led by Grand Marshal Strike.